


Nesting

by Ellamoose



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Destiel - Freeform, Family, Life in the bunker, M/M, domestic!Dean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-13
Updated: 2013-07-27
Packaged: 2017-12-14 21:34:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/841632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellamoose/pseuds/Ellamoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Winchesters and Castiel lead an extraordinary life, but what's it like at home when Dean starts going domestic? A series of one-shots about life at the Men of Letters' headquarters, ranging from grocery shopping to the effects of cabin fever. Slight au: Cas w/o Naomi's influence. Pre-Season 8 finale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Home Cooked Meal

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership of these wonderful characters
> 
> Hey everybody! This is the first chapter in a series about the three boys living at the headquarters. I guess it's a little bit au since it doesn't deal with the main plot points of season 8 and Cas is a part of these stories with the storyline about his struggles with Naomi and Heaven. It'll also be a little bit Destiel shippy here and there, but not a whole lot since it isn't the main focus here.
> 
> A big thank you to livinlavidalokid for helping make this story happen!

Dean swung the ancient refrigerator's door open, leaning on it and examining the almost bare shelves; nothing but a few beers, old pizza, and some condiments. He leaned in a little farther to see if anything a little more appetizing was hiding behind the beer and pizza.

"What are you looking for?" The familiar deep tones of Cas' voice almost made Dean jump out of his skin, and he hit his head on the inner ceiling of the fridge. After the few stars he was seeing dissipated he looked to his side to find Cas standing directly to his left. As was his habit Cas was standing within inches of Dean, once again forgetting the whole personal space concept.

"Dammit, Cas," Dean stood up slowly, rubbing the back of his head, "You know you don't have to pop around in this place. You could just walk from room to room like a normal person and not give me a heart attack.

"My apologies."

Dean sighed, "Don't worry about it." He shut the refrigerator door and walked past the counters and cupboards on one side of the large Men of Letters kitchen, examining a cupboard here and there hoping to find something appetizing. They had not been able to make it to a grocery store in quite some time, running from city to city, following cases wherever they took them and eating crappy road food along the way.

Cas did not move from where he first popped into the kitchen, watching Dean meander around, still wondering what his human was looking for. Dean slammed shut another cupboard, full of expired food, and turned back to Cas, "What are you doing in here anyway?"

"Sam asked if he should order some food since it appears this place is severely lacking in rations. I offered to check with you on the matter since he is in the middle of reading a very lengthy, and slightly inaccurate account of-"

"Yeah, yeah, Sammy's geekin' out again, I got it. I don't think I could eat any more take out this week if you paid me. No," Dean walked past Cas, patting him on the shoulder on his way toward to the hallway that lead to the exit of the Batcave, "I'm heading to the store. There's gonna be some real food in this house tonight."

...

Dean whipped the Impala onto the empty highway, hoping his lead foot will get him to the store all that much quicker. Although, the quiet drive with a little Led Zepplin in the background was a welcome reprieve from all the crazy. A moment later, the atmosphere in the car shifted. Dean looked at the thermostat to see if Sam had been messing with the settings again. Suddenly a shape appeared in his peripheral- "CAS!"

"I hope you don't mind some company on this trip to the grocery store." Dean spied a small smirk on the angel's face.

Dean turned the music up just a few more notches, filling the silence that Cas seemed so comfortable to maintain. Although he had been looking forward to getting out and being by himself for a little while, he had to admit that the company of his favorite angel was welcome in contrast to not knowing Cas' whereabouts.

In what seemed like no time at all, they reached the outskirts of the closest town and Dean pulled the Impala into the parking lot of the small grocery store. He turned the key, opened his door, and stepped out in one fluid motion. He turned as he closed his door and saw that Cas was already walking toward the collection of shopping carts just outside the establishment's doors. He ran to catch up with Cas as he stopped and stared at the shopping carts inquisitively.

"Should I take one of these?" Cas asked, perturbed by the herd of metal baskets. Dean pushed past him and pulled out a cart. Without a word, he turned the cart and walked into the store, shaking his head at the angel. Cas hurried after him through the automatic doors, hair ruffled by the gust of air being pumped into the doorway.

Dean immediately headed for the produce, Cas close in tow. "You ever had gumbo, Cas?"

"I have only experienced a few of your dishes, mostly because of Jimmy's affinity for certain kinds. What is gumbo?"

"Just one of the best meals ever. I've gotten pretty good at making it, it uses a lot of different things and you can pretty much make it with left overs; if we had any back at the Batcave." Dean wandered through the produce aisles, picking up everything he would need for the meal he was already salivating over. While he grabbed the vegetables and herbs he wanted, Cas wandered through the aisles, picking up and putting down every specimen that went into their cart.

The two men walked in comfortable silence as Dean continued to add what he needed into the shopping cart. He tried to hide a smile as Cas became more and more engrossed with the contents he was picking off shelves and ordering from the deli.

As Dean and Cas passed the bakery, neither could resist the aroma of freshly baked bread and pie. Dean grabbed a freshly baked loaf of french bread while Cas stared at the stacks of pies neatly organized by flavor.

"Hey Cas, grab an apple pie for me?"

"Of course," Cas grabbed the freshest apple pie he saw and placed it gently in the shopping cart as they left the bakery section.

As Dean finished unloading the contents of their cart he turned to find that Cas was not standing as close to him as he usually did. "Cas?" Dean turned around to look back down the checkout line to find Cas standing by the rack of tabloid magazines. Dean shook his head and finished paying for the groceries and placed them in the cart, smiling at the checkout clerk as she handed him the receipt.

Cas stared awkwardly at the tabloids, his brow furrowed. He turned slightly when he sensed Dean standing next to him with the cart. "Looking for the latest updates on Hollywood gossip?" Dean smirked as Cas still had a confused looked in his eyes.

"I don't understand."

"Well, when humans get bored they like to talk shit about people they think have it all."

"All what?"

"Just, you know, money, fame, all that." Cas still looked somewhat concerned about the wall of colorful magazines all screaming about who cheated on whom, and the latest pregnancies of several different women. He tilted his head wondering to himself, Why do humans find this so important? Dean grabbed Cas' shoulder and turned him away from the tabloids. "Come on man, let's get back home."

...

Dean dumped the sacks of groceries on the counter in the kitchen, Cas standing just a few feet behind him.

"May I help you with dinner?"

"Sure, why not?" Dean handed Cas several ingredients, including most of the vegetables. "Do me a favor and rinse those off in the sink."

Cas carefully washed everything Dean threw his way, more than happy to contribute to what was probably the first normal night for the Winchesters in a very long time. He watched Dean as he began making some kind of soup in a large saucepan on the stove. "What is that?" Cas nodded at the curious substance in one the stove.

"It's called roux; first step in making the best gumbo you'll ever have."

After Dean had started the roux he went to the sink to help Cas finish preparing the vegetables. He pulled out a knife from the drawer next to Cas and chopped the celery, onion and and bell pepper at a surprising speed. Cas watched with concern as Dean chopped away at the vegetables, the knife moving quickly at an alarming proximity to Dean's fingers. He never saw the smile on Dean's face as he noticed that the angel's focus had shifted to his hands.

After the roux had finished, Dean had Cas stir another pot on the stove as he added the roux along with many other things Cas could not identify. Cas kept stirring after Dean had finished adding everything, unsure what he should do next. Dean placed another pan on the stove, throwing in shrimp and crab to simmer in a sauce that Dean told the confused angel was called Worcestershire.

Dean turned to the fridge and pulled out to beers. He jumped on the counter next to Cas and the stove, popping off the bottle caps on the counter. "You don't have to keep stirring that, you know," Dean smirked at Cas. He held out the second beer to Cas. Leaving the beginnings of the gumbo to simmer on their own, Cas leaned against the counter next to Dean's legs and took the beer from him.

Dean knew they would have about an hour before he would have to get back to cooking dinner so he convinced Cas to play a quick game of cards with him. Cas sat at the table, cards in hand. "Why don't we play a board game? Those are much simpler."

"Nah. Come on, poker really isn't that hard." Dean leaned back in his seat at the table, completely relaxed as he watched the angel squirm in his chair. They both slowly collected a small group of empty beer bottles as they played, although the game quickly turned into Dean beating Cas and Cas' face becoming more and more confused as Dean explained more and more rules that seemed to contradict each other.

The timer of Dean's phone started beeping, quickly ending their game as Dean jumped up and went to the kitchen. He grabbed the last few needed items to finish off the gumbo, adding in everything that had been simmering in the other pan. Cas went back the giant pot to stir as Dean had showed him earlier. A smile crept across his face as he helped Dean finish preparing the meal that he was so obviously proud of. The fact Dean Winchester, the most stubborn and private creature he had ever encountered preferred to share an afternoon with him and patiently teach him the ways of cooking food warmed his vessel's heart.

...

"SAMMY!" Dean called for his little brother from the dining room, placing a giant bowl of gumbo and two slices of the oven toasted french bread. Sam stumbled into the room, sleeves rolled up, hair unkempt, and stubble beginning to fill in his face. Dean turned around to face Sam and halted. "Woah there, Sam. You're looking a little ragged." Dean walked past Sam, heading back toward the kitchen to get the other two bowls, "Sure you ain't hitting the books a little too hard?"

Sam chuckled, "This is nothing. I went to college, remember?" He slumped into his seat and hung his head over the bowl of steaming gumbo, thanking the heavens that Dean had decided to make dinner rather than order another disgusting pizza. Sam caught movement in the corner of his eye and jumped when he saw that Cas was now sitting across the table from him, carefully placing the playing cards in their box.

"Jeez, Cas, you gave me a heart attack!"

"You two seem awfully jumpy. I would have thought you'd grown accustomed to me 'popping from room to room.'" Cas adjusted his voice at the end of sentence, imitating Dean with startling accuracy. Sam smiled into his bowl.

"Alright, Cas," Dean exclaimed as he walked through the kitchen doorway, "Prepare to have the best meal of your life." He placed the bowl and bread in front of Cas along with another beer.

The three boys sat together, each making faces of equal surprise and appreciation as they tried the meal Dean had created. His face lit up with pride as he heard several "Thank you"s and "Wow"s. The night slowly slipped by, and as the three of them finished their meal, the empty bottles slowly increased and the Batcave was filled with laughter as the playing cards were pulled back out and Cas was convinced to attempt another round.


	2. Bringing Home a Stray

Dean opened his bedroom door and stopped. An older black labrador with a greying face was sitting in front of him, it's nose wiggling as it sniffed his pajama pants and it's tongue wagging out of its mouth. Dean grimaced as the dog licked his pant leg and looked up at him with loving, curious eyes. He stepped around the dog and jumped when the dog barked at him. The old thing stood up and trotted down the hallway, leaving Dean to stand there wondering where the hell a dog had come from.

Dean followed the dog through the headquarters, it's claws clacking on the floor as it trotted through the hallways with a clear destination in mind. It turned down the hallway to the left, the room opening up into what they had turned into their dining area. Sam sat at the table, a cup of coffee from the nearest coffee shop and a stack of newspapers sitting in front of him.

"Morning," he called without looking at Dean. He slid another cup of coffee across the table in Dean's direction. Dean eyed the dog as it went up to Sam, plopped down on its back legs and placed its head on Sam's leg.

"What is that thing doing here?"

"It's not a thing, it's a 'he.'" Sam patted the dog on its head, scratching the fur behind its ears. "I went out to get some coffee this morning, and he was just sitting next to the Impala when I came out of the coffee shop. He didn't have a collar or any tags. I couldn't just leave him there!"

"Well it's not staying, is it?"

"Well..." Sam looked down at the dog and patted his head again. Dean glared at the dog, still standing on the other side of the room. "I was hoping we could at least hang on to him until we find out if he has a home or not. Who knows? A dog might be good around this place."

"Are you kidding me? We're gone all the time, they eat and poop and eat some more. They're messy!"

Sam grunted, shutting the conversation down so Dean couldn't further discourage keeping the dog. Dean eyed the thing as it followed Sam when he stood up and walked to the kitchen. He could have sworn he saw a trail of fur floating through the air as it trotted along behind his brother. He grimaced as he thought about the mess a dog could make, especially an old one, shuddering at the thought of following it around cleaning up after it. Picking up his coffee from the table as he turned, he left the dining room and took quick strides back to his room.

He shut his bedroom door, leaning against it deep in thought. He didn't like pets, they were just another form of commitment that made you weak. They're messy, they make you feel attached, and then they die. Not to mention the fact that the only thing big dogs made Dean think of were hellhounds on his heels, tearing into his flesh, dragging him back to Hell. He was not a dog person, and Sam couldn't change that.

"What's going on in that mind of your's?" Cas was sitting in the chair on his half of the room, a book resting on his lap. Dean's eyes snapped open, unaware that Cas was still in their room. Dean walked over and slumped on the king-sized bed.

"Sam brought home a stray dog."

Cas smiled to himself, he knew how Dean would feel about a pet even though he had also tried to convince Dean several times that they needed another addition to their family. "What do you think about it?"

Dean lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, "I hope Sam gets rabies." Cas chuckled. He lay down on the bed next to Dean, looking up at the ceiling with him. The two stayed there in silence for some time, Cas listening to Dean's breathing slowing as he fell back asleep.

...

Dean cracked his eyes open to the sound of something scratching at his door. A slight whimper woke him up completely. Still facing the ceiling, Dean looked up and tried to make sense of the sound. Why would Cas or Sam be making noises at his door? A small high pitched bark slipped under the door as if the dog had heard his thoughts. Dean turned his head and glared at the door. He could see the floor under his door steaming up as the dog shoved its nose in the small gap.

He rolled over, his back to the door. "Go away." A small yip came in reply as soon as he spoke. Dean rolled back over, exasperated. "FINE." He jumped out of bed and flung the door open hoping it would scare the dog away. It didn't. The dog sat up, tail wagging, panting up at Dean.

"What do you want?" The dog barked at him again. He sighed and shut his door on the dog again. Maybe if I'm quiet, it'll go away. He tiptoed to his bed and sat down very slowly. The dog scratched at his door again.

"You should probably do something about that." Cas made Dean jump when the angel popped in next to him on the bed.

"Dammit Cas. Stop doing that."

"Would you rather I had opened the door?" Dean humphed, rolling his shoulders. "Why does the dog bother you so much?"

"I just don't like dogs, Cas."

"That's quite evident," Cas paused and stared at the sliver of the dog's nose he could see under the door. "I will talk to him for you." Cas stood and opened the door, the dog sitting up once again to stare at the angel.

"Hello, there," Cas patted the old, handsome lab on the head and sat down next to him. The two stared at each other for some time, Dean looking on with a look of doubt. Cas nodded and looked up at Dean, "He needs to go outside."

"Oh, is that all it has to say? Tell it that it can go bug Sam for that." Dean pulled on the old robe he had found when they first arrived at the Men of Letters headquarters and grabbed the now cold coffee.

"He would also prefer that you don't call him 'it.'"

Dean sighed and pushed past the angel and the dog. As he walked down the hallway he could hear that familiar click clack of the dog's claws. He looked behind him and saw both the dog and Cas following his footsteps. Cas tilted his head and smirked at Dean. He decided to ignore them both.

...

Sam's head was resting on an ancient book, probably another collection of hunters' reports on new monsters they encountered and new lore they discovered. Dean tossed a wad of notebook paper at Sam that he found on the floor. Sam jumped up looking around for whatever woke him and glared at Dean when he saw he was the culprit. Dean pointed his thumb behind him as the dog followed on his heels, "Your stray needs a trip outside." He dropped the cup of cold coffee in the trash can and headed toward the kitchen in hopes that he could escape the dog and Sam's own puppy dog eyes.

Sam sighed, rubbing his hands across his face, eyes still half closed, "Can you take him for me? Just this one time."

Dean considered protesting more, but his little brother really did look pretty ragged around the edges. His shoulders slumped as he resigned, "Fine." Dean turned to find the dog sitting right behind his legs, staring up at him. Cas, however was no longer standing near him. He looked around, wondering if Cas had taken off without a word again. Turning back around to Sam, he found him sitting at the table with his brother. "Aren't you coming?"

"I think the two of you should get to know each other." Cas looked down at the piles of books on the table, trying to make himself look busy. Sam tried to hide a smile as Dean turned and stomped down the hall toward the front door, grumbling under his breath the whole way.

Cas got up after Dean left and went into the kitchen, and Sam soon heard several crashes and bangs. When Cas emerged he carried two cups of coffee, one large one filled to the top which he handed to Sam. Sam looked up at him with thanks and took a giant gulp of the piping hot drink. Cas sat down across the table and looked across the heaps of papers and books on the table.

"I think we should call him Bildad," nodding in the direction the dog had followed Dean when Sam looked confused.

"What the hell kind of name is that?" Sam looked at Cas doubtfully from his fresh cup of coffee.

"It means 'old friend.' I think it's very fitting since that dog is older than either of you."

"Dog years aren't the same, Cas."

"Well Bildad is quite convinced otherwise." He took a sip of small cup of coffee he had made for himself, "I'm also quite sure he'll be staying here for some time."

Sam raised his eyebrows, "Oh, really?"

Cas nodded into his cup of coffee, "He likes you two."

...

Then next morning, Dean woke to scratching on his door again. Cas rolled over, turning his back to Dean and the door. Dean jumped out of bed and flung the door open, "Why won't you go harass Sam?!" The dog looked up at him expectantly.

"You're not gonna go away, are you?" The dog licked its chops and sat down in Dean's doorway. Dean looked back at Cas hopefully, maybe he could convince Cas to take the damn dog outside. Cas rolled onto his stomach, avoiding turning his face toward him. Dean turned and grabbed his jacket, grunting and grumbling as he threw his boots on half laced up. He closed the door behind him and stormed past the dog, although it quickly caught up with him and licked his hand before he pulled it away and opened the front door.

Dean leaned against the Impala, hands shoved in his pockets and breath clouding in front of him. The old black lab paced around on the other side of the private road in front of their home. He watched the dog as it went about exploring the grass and trees, although it didn't wander too far and it looked for Dean every couple minutes to make sure he was still there. Dean couldn't help a small smirk as the dog finished its business and pranced through the grass toward him, its ears flopping on each side of his face. He stopped in front of Dean and barked at him, leaning down on his front legs, taking a playful stance ready to run at a moment's notice. He barked and took off again, running into the grass and whipping his head around as he picked up a stick and ran back to Dean.

"You're kind of a charmer, ain't you?" Dean looked down at the dog and the stick skeptically. He picked up the stick and tossed it across the road. The dog took off and brought it back quicker than Dean would have expected from a dog that looked so old. He tossed the stick a few more times for him, forgetting about the cold and his dislike for the dog at the same time.

Finally ready to go back inside, Dean patted the side of his leg and called for the dog to follow him back to the door. The dog bolted past him and sat patiently, staring at Dean as he slowly approached. Dean caught sight of what looked like a large scar on the inside of one of the dog's front legs. Dean bent down to rub his hand across it, the cheerful lab now tensing up. The fur was a little thinner on the inside of his right leg, a pink scar that hinted he had been bitten and torn at in the past. He looked the dog in the eyes, and they were full of sorrow and embarrassment. Dean spotted another scar underneath his chin, a long line that stood out a little more among the grey hair on his face and neck. Dean could feel his heart sink; another war torn soul.

As soon as Dean took his hand away from the scars and patted the dog on the head, his bubbly demeanor returned. Dean opened the door for him and followed him inside. The two walked together down the hall, returning to Dean's room. The dog stopped in the doorway and watched Dean as he removed his jacket and boots. After sitting back down on the bed next to Cas, he looked back at the dog that sat obediently at the threshold. Dean lay down and whistled quietly to call him into the room, dropping his head over the edge of the bed to encourage him. The dog stood up and took a few cautious steps into the room, unsure what to think of this invitation. He walked up to Dean, nuzzled his nose on his hand and lay down on the floor next to Dean's side of the bed.

Cas rolled over and faced Dean, "I thought you didn't like dogs."

"Yeah. Well I guess this one's kinda growing on me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! What do you guys think of the new addition to the family? As always, please leave me any thoughts you have- I love constructive criticism as well as chatting about Supernatural.


	3. Cabin Fever

The lights flipped on in Sam's room without warning, he flipped onto his back as his instincts took over to prepare himself for an attack. Before he could react, a pillow was launched at his face.

"RISE AND SHINE, SAMMY!" Dean stood a few feet from the bed, sure to keep out of Sam's reach in case his little brother decided to retaliate.

"Go away," Sam groaned as he rolled back over, shielding his eyes from the light.

"Come on, man, I'm bored." Dean started wondering around the room, picking up and putting down everything in sight. Cooped up in the Batcave for almost a week, Dean had started looking for opportunities to annoy Sam a couple days ago. The novelty of having his own room had worn off when he no longer had the option of leaving it to go on a case.

On their latest case, they visited a small town in Idaho where they had an unfortunate run in with a few of Crowley's demons. Sam had convinced Dean that they should turn tail and head back to the Men of Letters' headquarters and lay low for a week or two, although he grumbled about it the whole drive back and for the first couple days they were stuck in the Batcave.

Dean picked up another pillow and threw at Sam's back, the only sound in the room the thump of the pillow hitting him squarely in the back. "Go away, Dean."

"Dude, you're no fun." Dean left the light on and walked out of the room, leaving the door open as well since he knew it would piss off Sam even more. He walked aimlessly down the barren hallway, snapping his fingers and clapping his hands in front of him and behind his back, making as much noise as he could manage. He walked through the large opening where four hallways met, the War Room just the the right.

He looked into the room and saw Cas standing in front of the giant table covered in maps. Bildad was asleep at his feet, his feet twitching as he chased something in his dreams.

"What's up, Cas?"

Cas looked up at him and then looked up at the ceiling. "I don't understand the question."

Dean sighed, too bored and impatient to indulge his angel and explain the meaning of his question. He kept walking through the headquarters, eventually making his way to the room they often used as a dining room and where that ancient sword stood on display.

Dean looked over his shoulder to ensure no one was watching before he took the sword off the display and whipped around to face the other side of the room. He swung the sword above his head, an imaginary foe standing before him. The sword came down in a fierce blow cutting the invisible monster down. Dean swung around behind him, blocking the sword of another villain, their swords clanging and sparking. He laughed with triumph as he stopped the attack of another, his robe billowing behind him as he ran the length of the table, running to meet another invisible villain.

"What are you doing?" The sudden presence of Cas startled Dean and he stopped in his tracks, sword above his head again. He turned and glared at Cas, lowering the sword and holding it behind his back. Bildad, or Billy as Dean had started calling him just so he could see the reaction on Cas' face, walked around the corner and stopped next to Cas and wagged his tail as he caught sight of Dean.

"Nothing." He pushed past Cas and gingerly placed the sword back on its display. "What are you doing snooping around?"

Cas looked at Dean with a defiant little smirk, "Nothing."

"Cute." He walked past Cas, heading back to their room to get dressed and try to find some way to entertain himself. In his room he found that his stacks of books on his desk were back in the shelves on the other side of the room, and most of his clothes were missing. Dean turned back around, sticking his head out the door, "Cas?!" The angel peaked around the corner down the hallway with Bildad peaking his head around Cas' knees. "What happened to our room?"

"I decided it was time I cleaned it up a little."

Dean scoffed, "And that meant taking all of my clothes too?"

Cas shrugged and patted Bildad on the head, smiling as he looked down, "I just thought your clothes could use a wash. You don't mind wearing that robe for a little while longer do you?"

Dean grumbled, too irritated to deal with Cas. It was bad enough he couldn't go into town for anything because of Crowley's frigging demons, but he couldn't even have control over his own things? Sure Cas was great, but sometimes he still didn't get that Dean had certain boundaries he didn't like to have crossed. The room was now too clean for comfort and Dean felt lost; in boredom, he would usually try to sleep away the time but that didn't feel like an option now that their room was so clean. He turned back out of the room and walked down the hallway, maybe he could explore the headquarters a little more, there were still plenty of rooms he hadn't visited.

...

Sam rolled over and squinted at his open door. Dean had left it wide open; the little shit. The lights were also on. Sam covered his eyes as he rolled back over, his head pounding with a migraine that reminded him of the pain he used to have when Yellow Eyes was trying to destroy the world. He chuckled darkly as he thought about how little his world had changed, despite his best laid plans and efforts.

Sam heard the click of Bildad's claws as he walked through Sam's open door. As the old lab pushed at Sam's face with his nose, he felt of wave of nausea after smelling the dog's breath. Bildad yipped in his ear and Sam flinched away, his head pounding even more. He pushed away the old dog he usually welcomed with open arms and felt guilty as he did so.

Bildad whined and yipped again, growing impatient with Sam's lack of movement. He wagged his tail with so much force that it made his entire back half sway and Sam couldn't help but smile at him. His smile was quickly replaced by a grimace has Bildad jumped on the bed, his elbows hitting Sam square in the stomach.

"Ok. Ok. I can take a hint!" Sam pushed the dog off the bed and slowly stood up. His head screamed at him with every step. He threw on a clean t-shirt and jeans and tried to avoid bending his head too far as he threw on his shoes.

At the front door, Bildad wormed his way through Sam's legs and bolted outside to find the nearest bush. The door frame shielded Sam's sensitive eyes from some of the sunlight as he tried to open his eyes a little more and wrestle through the pain in the front of his head. He patted his leg to coax Bildad back inside and closed the door as quietly as he could. Bildad didn't waste time, after licking Sam's dangling hand he bolted down the hallway to find somebody that would give him more attention.

In the kitchen, the steaming pot of fresh coffee beckoned to Sam. A clean mug was already sitting on the counter and Sam couldn't help but smile a little knowing that Cas had set it there out of the motherly habits that he had developed. Sam poured himself a full cup and breathed in the steam hoping the caffeine would help with his splitting head.

...

Dean sat at the end of one of the longer hallways in the Men of Letters' headquarters, his back resting against the wall. He had gone through most of the rooms down this hall and the majority of them were filled with more books that Dean didn't have the patience to read at the moment. Billy rounded a corner and ran down the hallway toward Dean with a ball in his mouth. Dean patted his leg and whistled to coax him to run a little faster. Billy spit the ball at him and skidded to a stop in Dean's lap. He threw the ball over Billy's head and watched him skid and slide as he tried to catch it as it bounced from one wall to the other.

A loud crash echoed through the halls and Billy froze, thrown off by the sudden clatter. Dean sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, not wanting to find out what had caused the noise. He stood slowly and weaved his way through the numerous corridors and rooms that led to his and Cas' room. He was pretty sure that Cas was the only one that could cause such a racket, Sam didn't seem much in the mood for doing anything that would create a lot of noise.

Peaking his head around the door frame, Dean instantly regretted doing so. Billy bounded past him into the room that was now covered in a layer of records that had fallen from the now collapsed shelves and slid across the entire floor. Cas sat on the floor in the middle of the chaos, a single record between his hands and a confused look on his face.

"What the hell happened in here?!"

...

Sam could hear shouting from the direction of Dean and Cas' room, but he tried to ignore it in hopes that that would make the noises disappear. He could hear two sets of footsteps heading his way. He leaned his head down onto the table next to his cup of coffee and closed his eyes, maybe if he didn't move they wouldn't notice him and carry on somewhere else. His hopes were dashed the second Dean rounded the corner.

"Is it too much to ask that you don't touch my things?!" Dean stomped into the room and dropped into a seat a few chairs away from Sam.

"Don't sound like such a child. It's supposed to be our room. Our stuff. You said so yourself. And I'm just trying to see that it's organized in an understandable way." Cas stayed standing on the other side of the table. He leaned against the back of one of the chairs and when Sam lifted his head to look up at him, he could see the angel's knuckles turn white as he gripped the chair.

"Don't make this all about you, Cas!"

Sam dropped his head into his hends, his ears ringing. He stared at his coffee and tried to drown out the two squabbling idiots. Couldn't they see he was in no mood to deal with them fighting around him? Why couldn't they fight somewhere else? Sam always tried to be patient with the two of them, but after over a week of the three of them stepping on each other's toes- and a migraine now topping it all off- he was getting pretty tired of their bickering.

Cas finally snapped back, "Why shouldn't I?! I never get any thanks from you! I clean the room. I take Bildad out when you won't wake up. I help you and Sam every time you ask. Would it kill you thank me for something once in a while?"

"I thank you plenty! Plus, I'm the one who cooks all the food. And I'm the one that cleans up after Billy when he gets into the stuff you leave lying around!" Bildad whined and lay down next to Dean's feet, upset by all the commotion.

"Oh, shut up!" Sam looked up from his giant cup of coffee and glared at the two of them. "If it's such a problem, why don't you two just find different rooms? There are plenty! Just do something so I don't have to listen to this crap!" Dean and Cas both stared at Sam, momentarily shocked into silence. Sam ran his hand through his hair and looked apologetically at his big brother, guilt spreading across his face as he instantly regretted snapping at them.

Pushing up from his chair, Dean patted his leg to get Billy's attention. The two walked out of the room without a word, leaving Cas and Sam at the table in an awkward silence. A few moments laster Cas released his grip on the chair and dropped his eyes to the floor as he turned to leave the room.

...

Dean wandered the halls of the headquarters for most of the afternoon, his hands shoved in his pockets and his head hanging low as he watched his feet rather than where he was walking. Billy walked next to him, occasionally bumping into Dean's legs as he tried to get his attention. By now he couldn't even remember how the day had gone to shit so quickly. Sure he liked to pick a fight here and there, but it always made him feel like crap later on when it was between him and Sam or Cas. Maybe he'd been wrong snapping at Cas, maybe he was a little childish for getting upset about someone touching his stuff. But then again he didn't have a lot. Was it really so much to ask that the few possessions he cared about were left alone? But Cas was only trying to help.

His mind kept spiraling as he walked from room to room, fidgeting with everything in sight. God, he really needed to get out for a bit. Having a home was awesome, but he felt antsy when he wasn't able to take the Impala out for a drive or go on a simple hunt. He was pulled out of his cloud of thoughts when he walked into Billy, failing to notice that the dog had decided to lay down while Dean stood aimlessly in the war room. Billy's head shot up as he was startled awake, he made eye contact with Dean and started wagging his tail. Dean sighed and sat on the floor next him, "At least you aren't pissed at me, right?" He scratched behind Billy's ears and fell back into his hectic train of thought.

"Alright," Dean looked down at Billy, "Should I go talk to him?" Billy looked up at him with his ears perked. "I'm not kidding, Billy," Dean looked him in the eyes, waiting for an answer he didn't think he would get.

Billy jumped up from the floor and despite Dean's moans of frustration, licked him on the face and turned to leave the war room. I guess I'll take that as a yes, Dean followed behind Billy a few seconds later as he turned down the hallway leading back to their room.

..

"Cas." Dean almost whispered his name from the doorway to their room, unsure what to do with himself. He felt guilty, but apologizing wasn't really his thing. Apologies were a sign of weakness, and no matter how often he tried to convince his instincts otherwise, he feared that belief was always going to be a part of him. Cas looked up at Dean from the bed, his eyes heavy with things both said and unsaid between the two of them. Dean stepped into the room and sat next to Cas on their bed. Cas looked at the wall, avoiding eye contact now that they were in such close proximity.

"I know I can be a dick sometimes." He saw Cas turns his head a little more to the side out of the corner of his eye. Dean's head dropped a little as he stared at his fidgeting hands. He wasn't sure where to go from here, admitting his was a dick was as far as he'd gotten in the time he spent wondering the headquarters after the fight. Cas turned to look at him again with a look that was indiscernible.

"Dean. I know." The corner's of Cas' mouth twitched as he tried not to smile.

A small smile broke across Dean's face, his shoulders relaxing as soon as some of the tension left of the room. "Thanks, Cas."

"What?"

Dean nudged Cas' shoulder with his own, "You heard me."

Cas couldn't help but chuckle even though he had been frustrated with this impossible man just seconds ago. He shook his head and tried to mimic Dean's movement by shoving his shoulder although he pushed a little too hard and made Dean almost fall sideways on the bed. Dean laughed at Cas despite himself and clapped him on the back, bringing the angel closer into his side. The two sat there for a bit, both unsure wether they're were over their argument and what they were supposed to do now.

"Hey, you hungry?" Dean tried to change the subject as smoothly as he could, looking down at his angel under his arm.

"I suppose I could eat something," Cas shrugged and looked up at Dean.

"Mmk," Dean rubbed Cas' shoulder and then stood up. "I'll be back in a bit, don't tell Sam I'm out," he said as he walked to the door. Dean turned and gave Cas a smile he knew he couldn't say no to, winked and was gone.

...

"Dinner!" Dean yelled as he slammed the front door shut. He almost floated into the dining room, three pizza boxes in one hand and two six packs of cheap beer in the other. He placed his prize on the table, holding his head high with pride. And Sam had thought they would run into demons the second they left home. Well he had just gone into town and ordered what the locals said was the best pizza in the state without so much as a pesky red traffic light. He loved when he was right. He glanced at Sam and Cas in turn, both looked like they had been at the table the entire time he had been gone; empty bottles were strewn about and half the table was obscured by more books and notebooks.

Sam shot him a sharp look as he silently scolded his big brother for risking being seen in town, but he quickly softened his gaze. The three of them had had a rough week and a half, and taking this small triumph from Dean would be cruel. At the same time, he couldn't help but prod Dean, "What the hell were you thinking, Dean?"

"That I'm awesome. Now shut your pie hole and be grateful that you've got such a great big brother." Dean pushed the top pizza box toward Sam, "Pizza and beer. What more could you ask for?"

"Something that won't give me a heart attack." Sam pulled the box toward himself skeptically.

"You haven't even looked at it yet!" Dean pointed an unopened beer at Sam's pizza box with a grin his face. Sam glared at Dean again before looking at the box and slowly opening the lid. Inside sat a large taco salad pizza, almost two inches of lettuce covered in all sorts of pizza and taco toppings. Dean smirked and reached over to clap Sam on the back, "See? I still got you some rabbit food."

Sam scoffed and pulled out a piece of pizza, his appetite finally returning after spending the afternoon nursing his migraine with pain killers and sleep. He couldn't help but notice when Dean picked up one of the other two boxes and sat down to share it with a very intrigued looking Cas. Dean playfully bumped Cas' shoulder with his own as he slid the box in front of them. "You two kiss and make up?" Sam asked with a mouthful of pizza.

Cas avoided looking at Sam as he picked at the contents of the pizza box, Dean however took the opportunity to chuck a wad of paper at Sam's head. Sam chuckled under his breath as he chewed on his piece of pizza.

Dean slid a beer in front of Cas and smiled as his angel stared at the piece of pizza in his hand. Even though they could all be a pain in each other's asses, Dean couldn't think of anywhere else he would have liked to be at that moment. Crowley's demons may still be out there, and they may be stuck at home a little while longer, but Dean hoped the worst was behind them.


	4. Rings Marathon

Sam's eyes shot wide open as some loud noise pulled him into consciousness. He squinted as he tried to focus his eyes on the clock: 5:00 am. Sam could hear yelling from the down the hallway. He shot straight up in his bed, his mind racing a mile a minute. Why was somebody yelling? Did somebody find them and break in? How did they find Dean and him? Was Dean hurt? Was Cas okay?

He jumped out of bed and quietly slipped out his door, his gun already in his hand. He inched down the hallway, and now that he was out of his room the yelling sounded strange. He thought he could hear a woman speaking too. As he neared the room that they had converted into a living room he could see lights spilling out of the giant room and dancing on the opposite wall of the hall Sam was creeping down. A loud roar escaped the room and Sam stopped in his tracks. The sounds and lights finally made sense in his muddled and half awake mind. He put the safety back on and slipped his gun into one of his pajama pants pockets. Rounding the corner, he saw Dean and Cas on the couch, their faces lit by the shifting lights of the large TV screen. Dean leaned against an armrest and had his legs resting over Cas' knees. Cas stared intently at the television, a cup of something steaming between his hands resting on Dean's legs.

"Do you realize what ungodly hour it is?" Sam yelled over the high volume. Dean jumped and flew to sit up, almost knocking the mug out of Cas' hands. Grabbing the remote sitting on the back of the couch, Dean paused the film. Sam stumbled into the room to see what was on the screen.

"Sorry, Sammy. We couldn't sleep, and then Cas here," Dean said as he clapped Cas on the shoulder, almost knocking the mug again, "Let slip that he's never seen The Lord of the Rings."

"Well that's great, but do you have to watch it now?"

"We can turn it down if it's too loud," Cas offered with an embarrassed smile. Sam still stood next to the TV, partially obstructing the view of the paused film. He ran his hand though his hair and sighed, "Whatever. Just try to keep it down a little bit until the sun's at least come up, ok?"

Dean's goofy smile grew even larger as he reached for the remote, turned the volume down about two notches and looked up at Sam as if to say, There. I did it. The movie started up again, it looked like they were at the Mines of Moria. How did I know that, Sam shook his head and left the small room to hunt down some coffee; sleep was obviously out of the question at this point.

Sam took a few steps down the hallway as he headed toward the kitchen until he caught sight of Bildad walking toward him with something in his mouth. Bildad picked up his speed at ran straight into Sam's legs, forcing Sam to brace himself on the wall to avoid toppling onto the old lab. He reached down and patted him on his side as Bildad leaned farther into Sam's legs to encourage him to keep petting. Reaching around to Bildad's mouth, he pulled something with a strange shape out of his mouth. In the darkened hallway it was difficult to tell what it was until Sam held it closer to his face; his eyes widened when he realized he was holding on to what looked like a human bone. Bildad whined at Sam, reaching up to nip at the bone.

Sam turned back toward the room where Dean and Cas sounded like they were having a heated argument about the politics of elves. He walked into the room and stepped in front of the screen. Dean broke off from their argument to quickly find the remote and pause the movie. "Dude!"

"Do either of you know where this came from?" Sam held out the bone in front of them.

Cas leaned forward, squinting as he sniffed the object. Sam couldn't help a smile as he noticed the look of horror on Dean's face.

"I believe it's the radius bone of a pope from the Middle Ages," Cas said in a matter-of-fact tone, "The Men of Letters really do have an interesting collection here."

"Where did you find that?" Dean asked as he grimaced at the thing in Sam's hand.

"Bildad had it in his mouth." At his name, the greying lab walked into the room and lay on the floor between Sam and the couch.

"I guess we just need to make sure we keep the doors closed." Dean said as he stretched out, his feet landing next to Bildad's head. Bildad moved a bit to rest it on Dean's foot. Dean chuckled and rubbed one of his feet on the dog's back. Bildad rolled onto his stomach, tongue hanging out of his mouth, and looked up at Dean as the man rubbed his stomach with his foot.

I guess I'll deal with this, then, Sam grumbled to himself as he left the room once again. He was already growing incredibly impatient with Dean and Cas today. Bildad stayed with the two on the couch, as Sam left he could hear Dean coaxing the dog onto the couch as he pressed play on the movie again.

...

Sam spent the morning back at the dining table, adding to the pile of journals and ancient books that he planned to read and translate. The cups of coffee he drank kept increasing and his nerves slowly became more shot as Dean and Cas continued their marathon down the hall. Even in a completely different room, Sam could hear the intense score blaring and the clashing of swords every few minutes.

Suddenly the sounds stopped. Sam glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it about 12 o'clock. Dean stumbled into the dining room, wearing house slippers and that old robe he'd grown so attached to, and shuffled past Sam as he went to the kitchen.

"You two finish your marathon?"

Dean stood in the kitchen door and scoffed, "As if. We only just finished the first half of the second movie."

"Dude, how long are those movies?"

"It's an all day thing, Sammy" Dean smiled as he turned into the kitchen to rummage for something to snack on. He came back out a few minutes later with two cups of coffee and a box of donuts under his arm. Sam watched as his big brother shuffled down the hallway with his prizes like a kid and sighed when he heard the burst of noise from the movie starting up again. Today was going to be a very long day.

...

The sound of wailing and swords clashing coming from down the hallway shook Sam awake, his head snapping up from the book it was resting on at the table. At first his mind raced to find a weapon and prepare himself until his mind cleared and he remembered the marathon going on in the other room. Sam glanced at the watch on his cell: it was about one o'clock. He rubbed his eyes and pushed the book he had been sleeping on away from himself.

Shuffling into the room where Dean and Cas had been sitting all day, Sam was shocked at the collection of junk food wrappers and empty beer bottles and coffee cups on the coffee table that showed just how long they had been there. He stopped in the doorway and was greeted with a small bark from a half awake Bildad resting on top of Dean on the couch. Dean and Cas both looked up and paused the movie again now that Sam was there.

"You two are still at it? Do you realize you've been watching TV for over six hours?"

Dean shrugged, "We took a break, even made food. You're the one who's been sleeping all day." Sam scoffed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe and tried to think of a retort. "Come on, Sam. Lighten up a bit. Come chill for awhile." Dean motioned toward the armchair next to the couch. Finally relenting, Sam left the doorway and walked around the couch to his seat. Cas offered Sam a friendly smile and held out an unopened beer for him, which Sam took gratefully.

"These movies really are quite fascinating, Sam," Cas offered in an attempt to make Sam more enthusiastic. Dean put in the next disk and plopped down on the couch next to Cas. He turned in his place, swinging his legs back up over Cas' legs and turned on the third movie. As soon as the opening credits began, Dean was telling an easily impressed Cas trivia about the making of the movie. Sam leaned back in the armchair and giggled as he thought to himself, And Dean says I'm the geek.


	5. Spring Cleaning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's been so long! Things have been crazy this month. But here's the next chapter and the next one will be up much sooner than a month.  
> As always, please feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

Candy wrappers were strewn across the war room table, a small ring cleared where Sam had been reading the night before. Dean groaned as he swept his arm across the table, herding the wrappers into the wastebasket in his other hand. He dropped the can on the floor next to Sam's empty seat and walked toward the dining room area. At this table, Dean found a grouping of empty coffee cups and beer bottles next to a pile of notebooks and a few dirty plates. Dean could feel the frustration brewing as he grabbed as many cups as he could and took them into the kitchen.

Cas looked up from the coffee pot, smiled at Dean and fondly said, "Good morning."

Dean grunted at him as he dropped the cups into the sink and stared at them with a stern look on his face.

"What's the matter?" Cas tilted his head and stared at Dean with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Nothing," he sighed, "This place is just a disaster right now."

Cas handed him a fresh cup of coffee, "I thought you didn't like it when stuff gets moved around."

"In the room, yeah, some stuff. But not the whole house!" He took a large gulp of the piping hot coffee, thanked Cas and walked back toward the door to the dining room.

"Would you like me to clean it up?" Cas asked Dean's back. Dean stopped before he left the room, a small smile on his lips, "No, don't worry about it Cas. Just try to relax for once. Go watch another movie of something." Dean smiled even more as one broke across Cas' face at the prospect of watching more TV.

Dean walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room to find Sam sitting at the table, balling up another candy wrapper and tossing it aside. He groaned and stomped past his little brother.

Sam looked at Dean and raised his eyebrows, "What's your problem?"

Stopping at the step up that lead to the hallway, Dean turned and stared Sam down, "Nothing. Just try not to turn the house into a pig sty, yeah?" Before Sam could respond beyond his high pitched scoff, Dean walked off back to the TV room.

...

The next morning, Dean woke up slowly, flipping from his back to his stomach a few times as he tried to sleep a little longer. Eventually, his bladder made the decision for him and he rolled out of bed. He stumbled into the bathroom and stopped in the doorway. Across the floor lay several towels, used shaving cream still caked the side of the sink, and there was a puddle of water next to the shower. Dean forgot all about his need for the bathroom and whipped around, heading for the dining room where he usually found Sam these days surrounded in dirty dishes and piles of newspapers.

Dean stomped into the room and crossed his arms in front of himself, "Hey Sam, ever heard of a maid?"

"Huh?" Sam looked up from the newspaper he was combing through for anything out of the ordinary.

"A maid. Ever heard of one?"

"Uh, yeah." Sam stared at his brother with an unsure look on his face, he looked like he wasn't sure where Dean was going with this.

"Well, I ain't yours, so go clean up your shit in the bathroom."

"What are you talking about, Dean?" Sam pushed back from the table and crossed his arms over himself.

"You left stuff all over the floor and the sink. You're telling me it wasn't you?"

Sam scoffed as he stood up and turned toward the kitchen. Dean pointed at the collection of cups on the table, "Would it kill you to put those in the sink? You're going to the kitchen anyway! I mean for God's sake, it's not that hard to clean up after yourself."

Sam whipped around and glared at Dean. "Are you saying I'm a slob?" Sam said accusingly as he crossed his arms in front of himself again.

Dean huffed and took a step closer to his brother and squared his shoulders, he hadn't planned on fighting with Sam but he was more than willing to go down that road if it meant Sam would start helping with the house. Sam used to be a neat freak and Dean would make fun of him for it, but he was regretting that now. He would give up Cas' apple pie if it meant Sam would revert to his OCD behavior. Maybe.

"Maybe I am. When I had a place with-" Dean cut himself off, almost uttering the names of the two people he never wanted to think about again. "Well my place was never this disgusting, is all I'm saying."

"Maybe I'm a little busy, I'm trying to find some work for us so you don't get cranky. And I'm trying to help Kevin so we can get this trial business over with."

"Are your arms broken, Sam? Did you forget how to pick up a towel, or a plate?" Dean took another step toward him, the tension rising as he closed the space between them.

"Get off my back, Dean. If it bothers you so much, why don't you pick it up?" Sam loomed over Dean's head as he stepped even closer.

"Because it's not my shit! I clean up this place all the time. I just cleaned this room three days ago," Dean spread his arm as he gestured to the dining room in disarray, "And it already looks like this! This is bullshit, Sam!"

Sam's faced flushed as he finally reached the point where there was no going back, cleaning up after himself may not be that big of an issue but he was determined to have the last word. He looked Dean in the eyes and said in a low voice that he knew would get Dean's attention, "You sound like Dad."

Dean's mouth clamped shut and his head snapped back in shock. No retort came to him, and his eyes dropped to the floor.

Cas walked around the corner and peeked in from the hallway with Bildad in tow. Sam and Dean whipped around at the sound of Bildad sneezing, and the old dog's tale wagged slightly as he made eye contact with each of the boys. Cas looked from one brother to the other, and asked sheepishly, "May I say something?"

When the two of them didn't respond, Cas took a step into the room and revealed that he had two unopened beers in his hand. He gave one to Sam and Dean with a shy smile on his face. Cas walked past them to the table and pulled out two chairs for them and leaned against the table, waiting for them to move. Cas stared at Dean intently and jerked his head toward the chairs.

"Cas-" Sam started.

"Shush," Cas cut him off as he pushed away from the table and placed a hand on Sam and Dean's shoulders. He pushed the two of them toward the chairs and when they didn't sit of their own accord, Cas pushed a little harder than was necessary to force them both into sitting positions. Dean groaned as he sat down and avoided eye contact with Sam or Cas.

Bildad sat up from his place in the hallway, now sure that it was safe to enter since no one was yelling. He walked up to Dean and plopped down on the floor, resting his head on his boots.

"Ok," Cas sighed as he looked between the two of them, "You two need to talk about things in a less hostile manner, it's bad for you."

"Cas, you don't need to worry about this, okay?" Dean glared at his angel, wishing he'd back off so he could take off for another corner of the headquarters and avoid Sam.

"I disagree. I could hear you over the TV and I missed what happened at the dinner party in Bag End because Bildad started whining about all the noise you were making."

Sam huffed and turned to look at the wall to his left, deftly avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room. Dean stared down at Bildad and fought hard to keep himself from reaching down and patting the old dog on the head; Sam had ruined his mood and he didn't feel like doing anything for the rest of the day, he didn't even want to move. If there were a way he could stay in that chair and not have to deal with Sam, he would have done it. Sam's insult had come out of left field and he surprised himself with how much the comment had bothered him.

Cas sighed as he saw Dean's brow crease more and more as he could see the man spiraling deeper into his thoughts. He crossed his arms and glared down at both of them in turn, although both avoided looking at him so they couldn't see the frustration and concern in his eyes.

"Well fine, act like children. See where it gets you. I'm going to watch my movie and if you two don't resolve something, I'm not cooking dinner for you." Cas held his head high and didn't look at Sam or Dean as he stood and walked away. The brothers watched him walk away and then avoided eye contact as they stood and headed separate directions: Sam toward the kitchen and Dean toward the hall leading to his and Cas' room.

...

After spending the night tossing and turning, much to Cas' and Billy's annoyance, Dean was only able to sleep for a couple hours. He woke up around 7:30 and took Bildad outside, leaning against the Impala with his hands shoved in his pockets, yawning and watching his breath cloud in front of him. They went back inside, although Billy was difficult to coax back inside after being cooped up in the house since yesterday evening. Billy ran off the second they were inside and bounded down the hall toward their room where Cas was likely still sitting on the bed reading.

Dean shuffled into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing his eyes and almost tripped as his slippers lost traction when he came to a sudden stop. Sam was leaning against the counter, a cup of coffee in his left hand and a newspaper in the other. He looked up at Dean and nodded, "Morning, Dean." He set down the paper, poured another cup of coffee and pushed it across the counter toward his big brother. Dean stared at the cup of coffee skeptically and then looked up at Sam, still standing across the room, "You didn't put cleaner in it or anything, did you?" He tried to fight a small smile as Sam snorted.

Cas came in through the door behind Dean and almost walked into his back, a broom in one hand and his eyes locked on a full dustpan he was trying not to spill. Dean stepped out of his way and shook his head, "Dammit, Cas. I said you didn't need to worry about cleaning."

"I wanted to help." Cas said without looking up. He walked slowly toward the trashcan and carefully dumped the debris.

Sam looked between Dean and Cas, brow creasing as the guilt he'd tried to push away hit him, "Really, Cas, you don't have to clean up after me."

"Is that so?" Dean's eyebrow raised. He walked up and leaned against the counter next to Sam, bringing the coffee his brother offered him to his mouth as he relaxed a little. It was starting to look like they could just forget yesterday, at least that was what Dean was hoping for. All the same, he wasn't going to be the first one to say something in this awkward situation. Cas still stood over the trashcan, staring at the boys and waiting for something to happen. Sam take a quick glance and Dean and then looked back down at his cup of coffee.

"So," Sam started, "Um, I guess I didn't realize how much of a mess the house is right now."

"Damn right you-" Dean started but was cut off by Cas hissing his name.

Sam looked back and forth between them again and carded his hand through the hair falling in front of his face. "Maybe I should try to help around here a little more," he almost whispered it to himself, but he could tell from Dean's face that he had heard him.

Cas took a step toward them, trying to intervene before Dean ruined this progress they were making, "I think that'd be much appreciated, Sam." He smiled encouragingly at Sam and then widened his eyes at Dean and jerked his head toward Sam as he tried to coax a level headed response out of his incorrigible human. Dean took another sip of his coffee and looked up at Sam, the two of them finally making eye contact. He pushed away from the counter and leaned around Sam to grab his newspaper. He turned and went to stand next to Cas on the other side of Sam.

"You can start with cleaning that bathroom." Dean grabbed the broom and dustpan from Cas and shoved them at Sam who scrambled to grab them before they fell to the floor. Sam stifled a groan and walked out of the room of the room without protesting, although his shoulders slumped a little.

Dean hopped up to sit on the counter, and smiled around his coffee. Cas took the few steps between them and leaned against the counter next Dean, "Well that could have been worse."

"He's not gonna be happy when he sees the bathroom," Dean tried to fight it as the smile grew wider on his face. Cas looked him in the eyes and his face fell, "Dean. What did you do?"

Dean opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a wail from across the house, "DEAN!" Dean sniggered as he picked up the paper and said fondly as he pretended to be busy reading the paper, "It ain't my fault Billy likes chewing on dirty laundry."


	6. Into the Closet

Sam lounged in his favorite armchair in the TV room, only half way paying attention to the movie playing on the screen. He browsed the newspapers spread across his lap and drank his fresh cup of coffee. Cas and Bildad were both stretched across the couch and Cas absentmindedly petted the dog's ears as he snored and nestled into his chest. Sam couldn't believe how much his brother and the angel had bonded with this stray he brought home on a whim. He hadn't really thought about it when he invited the old lab into the Impala that morning and then coaxed him inside the house, but he was glad Bildad seemed to have a gift for winning over people with surly dispositions. Lost in thought as he took a sip of coffee, Sam didn't notice Dean had entered the room until he saw something brightly colored in the corner of his eye. Sam looked up and almost spit his coffee as he stifled a laugh.

"What the hell are you wearing?!" Sam tried not to let his amusement show through in his tone, it was usually his goal to not encourage Dean to act like a giant five year old.

Dean stood proudly in a bright red Canadian Mounty uniform, hat and all, his fists resting on his hips, "Not bad, eh?" He smiled at his own joke and beamed even more when Cas looked up and looked at him with utter confusion spelled across his face.

"Dean, is that a normal outfit to wear?" Cas asked with a furrowed brow as Dean walked toward the couch. Dean chuckled as he picked up Cas' legs and rested them on his own as he sat down. Bildad woke up and, in an attempt to stretch and yawn, rolled off Cas and onto the floor.

Dean said a bit defensively, "I was bored! I guess these guys had a thing for costumes though, eh?" He settled back into the couch, removed the Mounty hat and placed it on the coffee table and patted Bildad when he came over to sniff the thing.

"Where did you get that?" Sam asked.

"I was wandering and I found a giant closet full of this stuff."

Sam humphed and went back to his newspaper, trying to ignore what a geek his brother could be. He peeked over his paper and couldn't help but notice the two on the couch: Cas stared at Dean's outfit with an indiscernible look on his face which was somewhere between fear and fascination. Dean tried to pay attention to the film but he looked at Cas out of the corner of his eye and winked. Sam shook his head and went back to his coffee and searched for anything supernatural in the news.

...

Cas sat on floor of his and Dean's room with Dean's records surrounding him as he tried to organize them with some new system of his. He looked up when he heard Dean scoot into the room and felt his mouth drop. Dean stood in front of him in what looked like a pair of pants that the factory had forgotten to sew together.

"What are those?"

"MC Hammer pants! I can't decide if I like 'em or not," Dean said as he looked down at the new clothes he was sporting.

"What's an MC Hammer?"

Dean chuckled, "Doesn't matter. What I wanna know though is why the Men of Letter's have these clothes stashed away."

"Perhaps they used them for disguises?" Cas shrugged as Dean tried to scoot toward him and sit down on the floor next to him.

Dean humphed as he plopped down on the floor, "Damn these are hard to walk in."

"Then why'd you put them on?" Cas raised an eyebrow at him. Dean smiled and shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I just felt like havin' some fun. Sam hasn't found a case in awhile, and I'm bored." Dean readjusted how he was sitting on the floor so he could sit crossed legged and an idea dawned on him. He pulled his laptop off the bed and flipped it open, lightly chuckling to himself.

"What're you doing?" Cas asked as he smiled at how easily Dean could amuse himself.

"I'm gonna show you just what an MC Hammer is. Wait 'til you see how this guy dances."

...

Dean walked into the dining room, sporting a sarape with brown and rust stripes. Sam looked up at him from his book and let out what sounded like a mix between a laugh and an exasperated groan. "Again?!"

Dean stopped in his tracks and looked at his brother defiantly, "What?! I can wear what I want." He sat down at the table and propped his feet up on the table's edge, "Have you ever even tried a sarape? They're damn comfortable." Dean smiled as his brother scoffed, shook his head and went back to his book. Half the reason he was doing this after all was to see the reactions he could get out of Sam and Cas; it was definitely worth wearing some ridiculous stuff like those uncomfortable Hammer pants. He leaned back further in the chair, interlacing his fingers behind his head with the sarape spreading out across his chest and arms. Even though the one he had worn when they went back to the 1800s had caused him some embarrassment, he still loved how comfortable they were.

Cas walked in with Bildad and sat down at the table, starting as he noticed Dean's new attire. He tilted his head and said, "I thought we established that wearing blankets is not very aesthetically pleasing."

Dean glared at him, "It's not a blanket!" Dean stood up from the table and stomped into the kitchen, mumbling something about the two of them not knowing a thing about clothing or what he was allowed to where in his own home.

Dean spent some time in the kitchen trying to find something to eat, defiantly wearing the sarape and flaunting it when Sam came in for more coffee and Cas came in to feed Bildad. He finally decided on ordering something and sat on the counter to sift through the results on his phone for local delivery places. A little while later, Cas walked into the kitchen without Bildad and grabbed a couple beers out of the fridge. He popped the caps off, letting them clatter on the floor and handed one to Dean as he rested against the counter next to the human.

"Thanks," Dean said with a small smile, "I ordered some pizza. Should be here soon." Cas nodded and hopped up to join Dean on the counter. He looked at Dean, his brow furrowed and a serious look in his eyes. He put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Dean, you can keep the blanket if you really like it." Dean laughed at Cas, slightly leaning into Cas' hand as his shoulders shook. At first Cas just looked more worried, but a smile broke across his face as Dean laughed at his strained expression. Wiping a tear away from his eye, Dean shook his head; his angel could really surprise him sometimes with how adorably clueless he could be.

...

The doorbell rang, prompting Bildad's booming bark and claws scraping on the floor as he bounded toward the front door. Dean jumped up from the couch in the TV room and followed Bildad down the hall. He fished out some cash from his pants pocket beneath the sarape and opened the door to reveal a young man holding a stack of pizza boxes. Bildad sat obediently at Dean's feet and eyed the boxes in the visitor's hands.

"Hello," Dean said with a smile. The pizza boy looked him up and down and smirked as he adjusted to hand Dean the receipt.

"That'll be 25 bucks."

Dean handed him a wad of tens and took the receipt and boxes of pizza, telling the guy to keep the change. The pizza guy nodded his head and smiled as he said, "Nice blanket."

Dean stood in the doorway and watched the guy walk to his car and turn it around, his feet frozen to the floor. "It's not a blanket!" He called at the car as it drove away. He whipped around at the sound of sniggering. Sam and Cas stood a few feet behind him half obscured by the corner in the hallway, both trying to stifle their laughter. Dean glared at both of them as he closed the front door with his foot. He walked past them with his head held high; "Guess this pizza's just for me then."

Sam and Cas quickly quieted and turned to run after Dean, declaring their apologies and swearing that they didn't mean, and would he please share. Dean felt a wide grin spread across his face. His brother and his angel were so easy to mess with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is a little shorter. The end is approaching for Nesting, I've only got a few more chapters, and this was just a silly idea I had and wanted to make sure I gave it a chance in this series.

**Author's Note:**

> Some of the chapters may seem incredibly close to canon. This crazy thing happened where several of the things I wrote about months ago happened in some fashion in some of the later episodes. I started writing during the hiatus and just couldn't stop and couldn't believe when this happened when the show came back- such as Cas going grocery shopping :D
> 
> This is my first try at writing a Supernatural fic, so please let me know what you think!


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